At the Net: The race for No. 1

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - The all-important race to finish as year-
end No. 1 appears to be a two-man affair heading down the stretch.

Five-time year-end ace Roger Federer and last year's No. 1 Novak Djokovic
will determine this year's top dog over the next month-and-a-half.

The Fed currently leads the rankings with a slim 835-point lead over the
Djoker, with both men lacing them up at the Shanghai Masters this week, along
with world No. 3 power and two-time defending champion Andy Murray.

Federer simply continues to amaze, even at the age of 31. The supreme Swiss
has piled up no less than six titles this year, including a seventh Wimbledon
championship back in July. He's also crossed the finish line first at a trio
of Masters events -- Indian Wells, Madrid and Cincinnati -- and was a silver
medalist at the Olympic tennis tournament, which was staged at "his house,"
better known as the All England Club.

The Swiss hero would appear to have the inside track to another year-end No.
1, but Djokovic will also have a say in the matter.

Federer is typically no stranger to skipping Shanghai, which means his entry
this week clearly indicates a strong desire to finish 2012 at No. 1. He needs
to defend a ton of points (3,000 of 'em) from his undefeated run on the
circuit last fall, when he ruled in his native Basel, Paris and the Tour
Finals.

If Federer fails to reach the quarters this week and Djokovic titles in
Shanghai, the Serb would overtake the Swiss at the top.

Djokovic, who landed in the year-end No. 1 spot last year after capturing
three of the four major championships, has had another brilliant year...
just not one as good as last year.

The Belgrade native won the Australian Open for a third time in January;
reached his first-ever French Open final in June; secured a bronze medal at
the London Olympic Games in August; and was the U.S. Open runner-up to Murray
last month.

The 25-year-old has also tallied titles at Masters events in Miami and
Toronto and was last week's big winner in Beijing (where he's now won three of
the last four titles). He's also been a five-time runner-up in 2012, including
Masters tourneys in Monte-Carlo, Rome and Cincinnati in addition to his
second-place finishes at the U.S. and French Opens.

Murray was still in contention for the year-end top spot before his campaign
took a major hit last week when he was upset by rising Canadian Milos Raonic
in a semifinal in Tokyo, where Japan's own Kei Nishikori was the stunning
eventual champ.

The 25-year-old Murray is currently 3,715 points off Federer's pace and 2,880
points behind Djokovic. In addition to his huge U.S. Open and Olympic titles,
the British star was a runner-up to Federer at Wimbledon and to Djokovic at
the prestigious Miami event.

Not in the equation this time around is two-time year-end No. 1 Rafael Nadal,
who has been sidelined since late June because of a knee injury that will
probably keep him out of action until late December, or well after the 2012
ATP World Tour season has concluded.

Part of the incredible "trivalry" that includes the 17-time Grand Slam
champion Federer and five-time major titlist Djokovic, the 26-year-old seven-
time French Open champion and 2012 Aussie Open runner-up Nadal currently rests
at No. 4 and will now finish a year outside the top two for the first time
since 2004. Seven straight years inside the top two!? That's astonishing. The
11-time Grand Slam champ was No. 2 behind Djokovic last year and has finished
second behind Federer on four occasions.

It's hard to say who's gonna come out on top when all the smoke clears next
month, but we can probably expect a surge from Federer when he hits some of
those indoor events in Europe.